


The Kind of Woman You Just Stop Loving

by multitrashg



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Complicated Relationships, Dialogue Heavy, F/F, F/M, Family Issues, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Cheating, adults having adult problems, complicated sibling problems, kya and pema are both homewreckers, lin is kinda bad at realtionships, probably a bit out of character for tenzin, this is unnecessarily dramatic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:21:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27852414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multitrashg/pseuds/multitrashg
Summary: The night before his wedding to Pema, Tenzin gives Kya a gift. Complicated adults discuss complex feelings about a complicated woman.“I think I want you to tell me how it happened.”“You don’t.”“I do.”Kya took a deep breath.“Fine."
Relationships: Kya II & Tenzin (Avatar), Lin Beifong/Kya II, Lin Beifong/Tenzin
Comments: 19
Kudos: 158





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes adults have shitty problems. They deal with them, or die mad about it.  
> or  
> Why Lin and Tenzin can't be friends after the breakup.

“Tenzin?” Kya asked, entering the dormitory room he was staying in on Air Temple Island, not his own, as he wasn’t permitted to see his wife-to-be on the night before the wedding.

Her brother turned around.

“You asked to see me?”

“Yes,” he said. “Sit down.”

He was serious, even more than usual. Kya was a bit concerned, as he usually didn’t come to her for help or advice. She was fairly certain he didn’t really respect her lifestyle

“What’s this about? Tenzin, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just… I found something earlier today.”

She cocked her head.

“Or rather, Pema found it. In my office. Meaning I’m in the doghouse, on the  _ night before _ our wedding. I swear, this woman is still finding ways to hurt me.”

“What? Who, Tenzin?” Kya asked, a bit confused and frustrated.

Tenzin abruptly held out the object, a small metal heart painstakingly sculpted by expert hands. It glinted indignantly at her in the pale light of the air acolyte dorm. She still remembered the night Lin had made it for Tenzin. 

_ “Do you think he’ll like it?” A 19 year old Lin asked, sitting next to her on the couch, their thighs touching, driving Kya up the wall. _

_ “Who?” Kya answered, pretending not to know about the feelings Lin harbored for her brother, of all people. _

_ “Tenzin,” Lin said with a blush, holding out the tiny object. _

_ Kya just laughed, trying not to scowl. “Whatever, I’m sure he’ll love it.” _

Tenzin’s voice dragged her out of her memory.

“I want you to have it, obviously,” he said, barely above a whisper.

“What?” Kya asked. “Why?”

“I  _ know,  _ Kya. I’ve known for a while,” her brother conceded.

Kya’s eyes widened and her face paled.

“Know… what?” She asked, trying to sound innocent.

“About you and Lin. She told me.”

Kya drew in a heavy breath, taking the object from his hands.

“The morning after she… tore up the island, Lin felt guilty. She came to me and explained everything, how she had no right to be mad about me seeing Pema behind her back because she was seeing  _ my sister _ behind mine.”

Kya clenched her jaw, trying not to panic.

“Why are you telling me this?” She asked, low and steady.

“I don’t know, Kya, truly. I don’t know. I just needed you to know... that I know.” 

Kya sighed. 

“What do you want, an apology? I’m sorry,” she said in earnest. 

Tenzin sat in front of her. 

“I think I want you to tell me how it happened.”

“You don’t.”

“I do.”

Kya took a deep breath. 

“Fine. I went to her apartment. I went to tell her about you and Pema. I thought she should know. We all knew. Bumi, me, Mom, Dad, hell, even Toph knew. I didn’t even get the chance to tell her,” she said. 

Tenzin sighed. Kya continued. 

“I was barely through the door when she started telling me about how scared she was that you two were going to break up. How she didn’t think you loved her anymore. She wanted to feel needed, to be satisfied.”

_ “Lin, he doesn’t hate you. He loves you! He’s your boyfriend!” _

_ “I don’t believe that anymore!” _

_ “Lin…” Kya said. She couldn’t bring herself to do it, to break her heart even further.  _

_ Lin was sobbing, yet Kya still couldn’t wrench her eyes away from her face. She was gorgeous, in a melancholy sort of way.  _

_ “I just don’t feel it anymore. I don’t think-“ hic “I don’t think he wants me anymore. He wants someone else.” _

_ Kya’s lip twitched.  _

_ “Do you know the last time we had sex?” _

_ Kya’s eyes widened.  _

_ “Three months ago! Three months, Kya. He doesn’t  _ want  _ me.” _

_ “Okay, fine! Then end things, Lin! If that’s really how you feel.” _

_ “You don’t understand. I  _ can’t,”  _ Lin sobbed.  _

_ “You’re not happy. He’s not happy. No one is satisfied,” Kya said, flailing her arms wildly. “Do something about it!” _

_ No sooner had the words left her mouth than Lin’s hands found their way around her neck, gripping her collar, her mouth hot and severe against her own. Kya knew she should’ve pushed her away and left, but another part of her, the part of her that was probably in love with her brother's girlfriend, needed this. Lin deserved this, right? Tenzin wasn’t being faithful, why should Lin have to?  _

_ So Kya kissed her back, allowing Lin to wrap her legs around her as they made out, messy and salty.  _

_ Kya carried her to her bed.  _

“So I did it. I took her to her bed and I fucked her. And then I kept coming over and kept taking her to bed and kept fucking her. Happy?”

“No.”

“Tenzin, what are you doing? You’re getting married  _ tomorrow _ ! To another woman.”

“Look at me,” he said. 

She did. 

“She’s not the kind of woman you just stop loving.”

Kya nodded, understanding. Yes, she understood that. Lin had tried to end things a few times and Kya just absolutely could not stay away, and Lin kept coming back. Those piercing olive eyes, stark black hair splayed across those silver satin sheets. The hard abdominal muscle twitching underneath dexterous fingers. Her  _ biceps  _ holding her above Kya, virtually pounding her into the bed. 

The siblings sat together for a moment, Kya turning the metal piece in her hands. 

“She didn’t tell anyone she was coming tomorrow. Is she coming with you?”

Kya nodded. 

Tenzin hummed in acceptance. 

“Goodnight, Kya.”

“Are you angry?”

“I’m not,” Tenzin said. “Honestly.” 

“Goodnight, Tenzin,” Kya said, leaving without giving her brother a hug. 

* * *

Kya sat the hard metal heart on the counter. 

“Oh,” Lin said, picking it up and admiring the craftsmanship of her teenage self. “God, what’s this all about? He still had it?”

Kya crossed her arms. “Yes.”

Lin looked up. 

“You’re mad,” she observed. 

“Not happy.”

Lin blinked. 

“You  _ told  _ him?”

“Oh,” Lin said again. 

“Lin! Wake up! I’m talking to you!”

“I’m sorry,” Lin said, touching the heart gently. “The guilt was eating me alive. I felt terrible about tearing up the island, his meditation space-“

“So you told him ‘Hey, you know how you cheated on me? Well I cheated on you too, but mine was worse, ‘cause it was with your  _ sister,’”  _ Kya spat the word. 

“That’s not how I feel about it, and you know it.”

Kya huffed. “I know.”

“Let’s go to bed,” Lin said. “I need my sleep. I have to go to my ex-boyfriend’s wedding tomorrow.”

Kya shot daggers at her. 

“Just teasing!”

The waterbender smiled, despite herself. She crossed the kitchen to kiss her girlfriend. 

“Let’s go to bed,” Kya said, pulling away, placing a kiss on Lin’s head. 

“Kya, I’m sorry.”

Those words didn’t come out of Lin’s mouth very often, so Kya paid them sufficient attention.

“For?”

“For telling Tenzin about us. He didn’t need to know,” Lin looked down. “But also for all of this. This isn’t the way I wanted things to happen for us. You weren’t supposed to be the…”

“Sidepiece?” Kya asked, a sideways smile gracing her lips.

Lin groaned, resting her head on Kya’s collarbone.

Kya laughed musically, pulling Lin’s face back up to meet hers.

“Look, Lin. I don’t like the way this started either. But tomorrow, we are going to go to that wedding, heads held high, as  _ girlfriends _ , and doing this thing right. Tomorrow, we’ll start over.”

Lin nodded, and let Kya lead her to bed.

“Your mom’s gonna hate me tomorrow."

“Ha!” Kya snorted. “No more than she hates Tenzin right now.”

Lin let herself smile and closed the bedroom door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kya and Lin flirt with Pema and spend a night on Air Temple Island. Tenzin harbors feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know those viral videos where the two wlw end up trying to propose to each other on the same day... yeah <3  
> Also I didn't really plan on continuing this, but then I stepped into my idea machine (aka the shower) and here we are.  
> I can't stop writing in this fucked up little universe I've created. Kya and Lin needed a happy ending.

Kya slipped off the bison and ran towards her brother and his wife, followed swiftly by Lin. She scooped a mildly pregnant Pema into a hug. 

“Pema you’re beautiful! Practically glowing,” Kya said, pulling back to look at her. 

“Oh, stop,” Pema said, smirking at her-sister in-law. “You flatterer!”

“Okay, Kya, let’s keep our hands off this one, okay?” Tenzin joked bitterly, all the while sweeping his sister into a tight hug. The air acolyte scoffed.

“You really do look good, Pema,” came a deeper-voiced Lin, also drawing her in for a tentative hug.

“Hey! You too, miss ‘both teams’.” 

Lin’s jaw dropped.

“It’s lovely to see you both!” Pema said, trying to mend her husband’s borderline insensitivities. “How was the South?”

“As beautiful as always,” Kya answered. “Lin loves the aroura lights.”

Lin snickered under her breath, vividly remembering their night under the lights. 

_ “Kya!” Lin shouted, snapping her legs together around the waterbender’s head.  _

_ Kya didn’t stop, though, continuing her ministrations until Lin’s legs stopped shaking around her.  _

_ Pulling herself up to lay beside the earthbender, whose hands were buried in her own hair, chest heaving up and down, Kya laid little kisses on her shoulder and pulled the thick blankets up over them.  _

_ Lin opened her eyes and trained them on Kya. Her home in the South had so many windows and even a skylight, letting the deep hues of the aurora play across Kya’s features in the dark of her bedroom. Lin swiped a thumb across her cheek. _

_ “Love you,” she mumbled. _

“How nice,” Pema continued, accepting Kya’s arm in hers as they walked into the temple. “I bet you’re glad to be back in the city though, Lin, hmm? Back to work tomorrow for you?”

“Not until Monday, actually,” Lin answered, hands tucked neatly behind her back as she walked alongside Tenzin. 

“Lin’s still off for the weekend, so she’s decided to spend the night here, on the island! Isn’t that crazy?” Kya continued. 

Pema flashed a glance at her husband who, admirably, only cringed for a fraction of a second. 

“Oh, that’s great!” Pema said. “Isn’t that great hon?”

“Hm? Oh, yes,” Tenzin answered. 

“Well, I’ll just have to get to work on a nice dinner then, huh? How do you feel about vegan dumplings, Lin?”

“Veganism is for cowards-“

Her girlfriend’s elbow made swift contact with her ribs. 

“But! Your food is always delicious Pema, I’m sure I’ll enjoy whatever you make,” Lin answered, forcing a smile. 

Pema giggled and was swept away by her husband. 

“Make yourselves at home,” Tenzin said. “Will you be staying in the dorms?”

“Is my old room open?” Kya asked. 

“Of course,” Tenzin answered. 

Kya beamed. “We’ll see you at dinner.”

* * *

“They look happy,” Pema commented after dinner, settled into their bed, gently cooing at a growing Jinora in her stomach. 

“Mmh, I suppose they do,” Tenzin said absentmindedly, from his place at the window. 

They came into his view quickly, Kya all but dragging Lin onto the balcony overlooking the harbor. He couldn’t hear them, but he had to imagine they were laughing, Kya at least. Upon closer inspection, Lin’s face did appear to be scrunched up in laughter. 

Something he hadn’t seen very often in his time. 

No, he couldn’t hear them, but they  _ looked  _ happy. 

They were dressed in floor-length kimono, the traditional apparel of benders staying on the island that weren’t air benders. Lin’s was a deep steel grey, the same shade that her hair was rapidly approaching at the ripe age of 40 (though she’d never admit that work was making her grey prematurely). Kya’s, on the other hand, was a more festive floral pink, the symbol of the southern water tribe embossed on the back. Tenzin remembered it from her early adulthood, a gift from Suki. 

Lin clearly had washed her hair recently, as her untamed salt-and-pepper curls were flowing wildly in the wind, bangs angrily bouncing against her forehead. 

They both settled down and leaned against the banister. 

* * *

“Yue Bay.”

Kya laughed at her girlfriend’s astute observation. 

“You know, with the way Uncle Sokka described her, I always thought she probably looked a lot like you,” Lin continued. 

Kya was flattered and blushed for a moment, as Yue was often described as one of the most beautiful people to ever walk the earth, but then she remembered. 

“Lin, her hair was white!”

Lin laughed with a snort, pulling at a piece of Kya’s slowly greying hair. 

“And you’re not far behind her!”

They both dissolved into laughter. Kya couldn’t pull her eyes away. Lin was so beautiful when she laughed, and it broke her heart that it was such a rarity. 

“Kya…” Lin backed away from the railing a bit, but Kya couldn’t wrench her eyes from the lights of the city. 

“Mmhmm?” She asked. 

“I know… we’ve talked about how we don’t like how this all started between us, but I like to think that we’ve come a long way from that.”

“Of course, Lin. I love you!”

“Yeah I-I love you too. I just wanted to say that I’m proud of us. And I’m proud of what we’ve become. And I’m not… ashamed of what I did anymore.”

“Good! That’s great, Lin. I’m proud of you too-“

“Kya, please turn around.”

She did as she was told and almost passed out into the bay. 

Lin was on one knee, a slim blue ribbon with a simple stone attached resting in the palm of her hand. 

“Kya-“

She was cut off by raucous laughter.

“Kya?”

Kya was, in fact, laughing at her. Tears threatened to prick at her eyes, but Lin simply curled her fingers around the necklace. Kya continued to laugh. 

“Kya? Please- I-“

The waterbender finally looked down and found Lin’s dejected expression, sucking in a breath in a sharp gasp. 

“Oh, Lin, oh no! No!” She sank to her knees in front of a now openly crying Lin. Kya gripped her face on either side. Lin sniffed. 

Kya slapped her own face. “Oh my God, not ‘no’!”

She buried her face in Lin’s chest. “I hate myself.”

Lin chuckled nervously. 

Kya pulled away, her own face wet now. She dug in her own kimono and Lin’s breath hitched. The box she pulled out answered her question. 

“Kya…”

Kya was laughing through her tears at this point, both of them kneeling in front of the bay, as Kya opened the box to reveal a small steel ring. Lin laughed openly with her. 

Once they finally caught their breath and wiped each other’s eyes, Lin spoke first. 

“This isn’t real.”

Kya smiled. “It is… Lin, will you-“

“Wait! I did it first! Let me!”

“Fine, I guess,” Kya giggled. 

“Kya… will you marry me?” 

Kya just laughed and repeated the question back. Lin rolled her eyes and tied the necklace around Kya’s neck. She smiled and touched the stone before sliding the ring on Lin’s finger. 

“Wrong hand,” the metalbender choked out. 

“Oh  _ God _ ,” Kya said, cringing and trying again.

Lin beamed and grabbed her girlfriend- her fiancé’s- face, pulling her in for a kiss.

* * *

Tenzin was standing at the window, arms crossed shaking his head. 

“Wow…”

“What is it?” Pema asked, almost asleep. 

“I’m fairly certain that my dear sister and our dear Lin have just gotten engaged to be married,” he said, turning around. 

Pema barely had time to register ‘our dear Lin’, raising an eyebrow, before she registered ‘to be married.’

“Oh!” She said straight up. “Tenzin, that’s amazing!”

In all honesty, the feelings her husband still harbored for the police chief were obvious and oftentimes made her insecure. She was happy for them for the wrong reasons. 

“Tenzin, come to bed. Leave them be!”

He turned away, but not before catching a glimpse of Lin lifting his sister into the air and gently spinning around, Kya’s head thrown back in laughter. Tenzin pulled off his robe and slid under the covers. He pulled Pema in beside him. 

“Oh!”

They settled into a warm silence, and the air acolyte was almost asleep when her husband spoke again.

“She’d better not hurt her.”

Pema’s brow furrowed. “Hurt who? Your sister?”

“Right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I think that Tenzin probably still had some kind of feelings for Lin in s1 of Korra? Yes  
> Do I think Lin reciprocated them? No  
> :)  
> Also sorry if this is poorly paced. I wanted to keep their engagement short and chaotic, the only way I could ever see it, since they're such gay disasters.


End file.
